BULAWAYO needs a minimum of US$15 million per annum to maintain its road network which deteriorates each rainfall season when heavy rains pound the ageing roads, mayor David Coltart has said.
On Friday last week Coltart told Southern Eye that the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara) was not disbursing enough funds to council to refurbish city roads.“Our major problem is that Zinara have paid us a pittance of what we need and also a pittance of what is paid by Bulawayo motorists to it, through car licence fees. There is fundamental inequity,” said Coltart.
“We need a minimum of US$15 million per annum just to maintain our roads. Last year, we received US$800 000 from Zinara paid in RTGS [Zimdollars] at the official rate.”The council held a meeting last week to deliberate on the pothole situation.
“In our meeting on Monday (last week), I asked that we shift our focus from total reconstruction of roads to maintenance of existing roads through the repair of potholes, (and) that was accepted,” Coltart said.
Council has been covering some of the potholes with soil to make the roads trafficable, but recent heavy rains have since washed away the soil and exposed potholes.
